Flames of this World
by Lord Commodore Norry
Summary: Esmeralda agrees to marry Frollo, but only to save the gypsies. Will she end up loving him, or will this be her own personal hell?
1. Chose Me, or the Fire

"I can save you from the flames of this world, and the next. Choose me, or the fire."

Esmeralda looked down at her people, locked up and afraid. If she died, things would only be worse for them. She then looked back at Frollo, who was smiling evilly, holding the fire that would burn her flesh and send her to her afterlife in between them. Never in her wildest dreams would she trade her life for this man, the one who had plotted against and killed hundreds of her people for twenty years. Esmeralda hung her head in defeat. "You," she whispered sadly, fighting back tears. She saw Frollo give her a menacing smirk before announcing to the crowd, "The gypsy Esmeralda has chosen to repent her crimes!" All the faces in the crowd- particularly those of the gypsies and Pheobus- dropped. They couldn't believe, nor understand why she had gave up so easily. No one in the crowd knew what would become of her; she hadn't told a soul about the offer Frollo had made her in the dungeon early that morning.

Esmeralda was so busy watching the crowd's reaction that she hadn't noticed that one of the guards had untied her until she was sitting in Frollo's carriage, with him sitting across from her, looking as evil as the devil himself. "My dear Esmeralda, I knew you would come to see it my way sooner or later," he said, reaching out to stroke her cheek. She jerked away from him, only to have him brush it aside. "The first order of business is to have you become a member of the Catholic Church. Your baptism will be tomorrow. After that, I have plans to attend a wedding at the Cathedral. The invitation has been extended to you, and I suggest you come. And after that, you're MINE."

The carriage halted to a stop in front of the Palace of Justice, the only building in Paris with its back to the great cathedral. It was a dark, depressing place, not like the cheery villages surrounding it. The interior contrasted its ugly exterior, with fine wood furnishings, generations old, but still new-looking. Still, Esmeralda couldn't call it her home. She would wait until later to explore her new surroundings. After her day today, all she wanted was to go to sleep and dream that this whole situation was a nightmare, and that she'd wake up a free, careless gypsy.


	2. Wedding of Notre Dame

Esmeralda walked down Notre Dame's aisle, the same one that she had to walk down just hours earlier to be baptized and to receive a warm welcoming to the Catholic religion by the kind archdeacon. The only things that were different this time was that she and Frollo had different outfits on. He had a white vest trimmed with gold, cream-colored pants, and black boots. His hat was a cream and gold colored version of his usual tricorn hat, only with a long, red feather replacing the sash. She has on a lovely white wedding dress trimmed in scarlet with a long veil covering her face that he had bought her. Probably before she had agreed to marrying him.

After reaching her groom and taking his hand, she had a quick glance at the room. Her family, the gypsies, Pheobus, Frollo's younger brother, Jehan, and, in the corner, Quasimodo were all there. She wondered if Frollo had let them attend just to rub the fact that he won, and they lost in their faces. It wouldn't have surprised her if he did. Not a soul in the Church was smiling, except Frollo, but his was but faint. Esmeralda looked back at Frollo, his icy stare seeming to reach into her soul, and wring out her hopes and dreams. This was it. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Archdeacon staring sadly at her, questioning whether he should put his job aside and urge her to back out while she still could.  
_

Clopin comforted whoever he could. It was all that he could do to keep himself from crying angry, bitter tears. Esmeralda was not only one of the most favored gypsies in their pack, but she was like a sister to him. They had grown-up together, having many fun adventures. Now to have nothing but darkness for a future with a cold-hearted man who would make sure every aspect of her new life was to his liking was an idea that was foreign to Clopin. But, putting his feelings aside, he decided to suffer through the wedding to show Esmeralda that he still loved and supported her. After all, she was doing this to save others skins.  
_

Pheobus was a man trained to hide any hints of sadess, but his training was being put to the test. Watching the woman of his dreams walk down the aisle to another man was hard enough to watch, but when said man was not only his enemy, but the one who was bent on killing Esmeralda and her friends, it was like having his heart ripped out. Pheobus searched the depths of his mind for anything Frollo had said or did that revealed any hidden emotions other than hatred, but gave up. Maybe if he had just paid more attention to his former employer, he could have warned Esmeralda...  
_

Quasimodo leaned against the doorway to the bell tower, burying his face in his arm. Soon, the free bird that he once knew would have about as many freedoms as he did. He watched the couple, Frollo eagerly agreeing to the vows, Esmeralda simply staring up at Frollo, nodding and moving her sweet lips. It looked like she was agreeing to her vows, but her voice was too soft to hear unless standing right next to her.

Up in the bell tower, Quasi could hear the gargoyles murmuring. They had been trying their best to be brave for him, but now that he was out of the room, they talked freely. He knew that they were just as upset about the marriage as he was.

As Quasi watched Frollo lean in to kiss Esmeralda, forever sealing their marriage, Quasi felt an anger that he had never felt before. Never in his life had he wanted anyone, especially Frollo, to drop dead. 


	3. Walk through Paris

Frollo walked alongside Esmeralda on their morning walk around the small village. It had been 3 years since that glorious day. In his mind, they made a beautiful couple. A mostly-submissive wife, with an all-powerful husband ruling over her, with a child on the way.

It wouldn't be too much longer until the baby came, and Esmeralda had made no attempt to hide it. It wasn't anything she said, but the moaning. What was so hard about carrying a child, he would never understand. She looked like she was in pain though, and had once asked if she could skip their walks until she delivered, which he declined. "And if I leave, who is to say that you won't try to escape?" She had yet to answer that.

Despite her unneeded whining, Frollo was happy about the child, or, the prospect of finally having an heir to his title. "Perhaps this one will be better behaved than that hunchback."

_

Esmeralda walked slowly, pretending to listen to her husband gripe how everyone was below him. According to him, having a speck of dirt on your being meant that you don't know personal hygiene. When she was sure that he was distracted, she slipped off, and went to see one of Clopin's puppet shows. It was the first time they had been out at the same time in about a year, and she was dying to see how he was doing.

Clopin was just finishing up an enchanting story involving a beastly prince and a fair young lady, when he saw Esmeralda in the small crowd. He, at first, was ecstatic to see her, until she moved closer and he could see her swollen mid-section. He almost gagged thinking about having a smaller version of Frollo waltzing down the streets, acting like he owned the place. Hopefully the poor thing would take more after its mother.

"From the looks of it, I'd say you're going to have a girl," He told her after the show.

"That's just an old wives tale, Clopin. They're almost never true."

"Eh, you never know. Either way, then we always have room in our pack!"

Esmeralda raised her eyebrow at him, trying to mimic the dispproving look Frollo gave many people, but it soon fell. "I wish I could, but you know I can't. If he ever saw our child behaving like I used to, it wouldn't be pretty."

Clopin's smile dropped as he stared Esmeralda in the eyes. "Has he ever hit you?"

Esmeralda was surprised by the question, but laughed it off. "No, why would you ask that?"

"Just wondering." He looked over her shoulder, only to see a familiar tall, dark figure heading towards them. "Listen, if you ever need anything or to get away, I'm here."


	4. Opposing Opinions

Frollo pulled Esmeralda away from the cart, glaring at Clopin, before turning his icey stare towards Esmeralda. "Esmeralda, how many times must I tell you not to socialize with that brute? We wouldn't want you to slip back into your heathen ways, now would we? And the thought of my child growing up with that... _thing_ as an influence is appalling." They were back at the Palace, and one of the guards held the door open for them.

"Claude, Clopin is a fine man. He's good around people, entertaining, and he's abiding by your rules."

Frollo sat down in front of the fireplace, offering Esmeralda a seat, which she gladly accepted. "I'm almost certain I've seen him perform witchcraft, though he does it only when he thinks that I'm not watching. But don't worry, my dear. The moment that I can make sure that he's breaking the rules, he will be taken care of."

Esmeralda's heart skipped a beat as she froze in fear. "You... you can't do that!"

"On the contrary, Esmeralda. It is my sad duty to punish those who go against my rule."

"Claude, it says in the Bible that it's a sin to murder! Haven't you listened to the archdeacon's sermons on compassion and mercy?"

"Esmeralda, they have been warned for years about what will happen if they are seen performing acts of witchcraft."

"You murder everyday. I'm sure that you'll want a second chance when the Lord is judging you," she mumbled under her breath.

Frollo tensed up, never having felt that he had lost an argument. Esmeralda saw him raise his hand to give her a horrible, lasting sting that she had felt a few other times. Instead his hand dropped, and expression softened. "I'm glad that you're finally starting to memorize the word of our Lord, Esmeralda, but perhaps you should read a little more on what it says about government." With that, he stood up and walked away, leaving Esmeralda alone to stare at the flickering fireplace.

Esmeralda really loved being alone in this room. The fire was always so calming. The way it moved and flickered freely reminded her of what she had been, and what she always would be. A free, fiery spirit. It also was an image of her burning hatred of Frollo. How many times he had hurt and abused her, blackmailed her, for cornering her into marrying him, for turning her into him.

She hated to admit it, but it was true. Frollo was slowly transforming her into the person she hated the most. The way she talked and acted towards him sometimes was the same exact way he acted towards the gypsies.

Her main priority, though, like any good mother, was their child. What would Frollo do if it were a girl, or had birth defects? Would he or she be treated like Quasi was?  
Esmeralda sat back and stroked her stomach as if to comfort the baby, letting it know that she was sorry that it would have to be born into such a horrible life.

Frollo paced around upstairs in the one room that Esmeralda, or anybody else, was forbidden to enter. His parent's old room. Everything in it was exactly the way that they had kept when they were still alive. The bed, the pictures, his and Jehan's crib, everything was how he felt they would have liked it. Ever since he could remember, this was the room that he would run to when he had a problem, and needed a warm embrace and advice from his mother.

Frollo laid down on the bed, staring angrily up at the ceiling. "Why can't she understand that it is my duty to punish those who go against my will?" He asked himself. "If I give favor to Clopin simply because they were friends, it would only be fair to do so for the rest, and I will be looked upon as weak."

He stopped for a second to rub his brow. "Why she chose to make a living performing witchcraft and numb the crowds into believing that it was alright, I'll never know. Surely she must have felt horrible, knowing what she was doing was wrong, and dragging innocent people down with her. Why would she want her own child to live the same way?"


End file.
